NEW YORK (TIP): Seventeen Indian American students from around the country who hope to become America’s next crop of researchers were recently named as Goldwater Scholars for 2013.

The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program was established by Congress in 1986 to honor Senator Barry M. Goldwater, who served his country for 56 years as a soldier and statesman, including 30 years of service in the U.S. Senate.

The purpose of the Foundation is to provide a continuing source of highly qualified scientists,mathematicians, and engineers by awarding scholarships to college students who intend to pursue careers in these fields. Ameen Barghi, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who seeks a Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience and wants to conduct research in rehabilitation medicine and teach at the university/graduate level. Ritankar Das, the University of California-Berkeley, seeking a Ph.D. in Computational Science and Engineering, wants to perform bio-molecular simulation research to find new energy sources at a national research lab, received the 2012 Pearson Prize for Higher Education.

Ria Chandra Domier, University of Alabama, seeks a Ph.D. in Chemical and Biological Engineering, wants to conduct research in regenerative medicine and teach at the university level.

Neeraj Sapra, University of California-San Diego, seeks a Ph.D. in Computational Physics, wants to conduct research in biophysics and teach at the university level. Ragini Phansalkar, University of Connecticut, seeks a Ph.D. in Computational Biology, wants to develop technologies to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of cancers.

Gautam Goel, Georgia Institute of Technology, seeks a Ph.D. in Applied and Computational Mathematics, wants to develop the next generation of bioinformatics algorithms and teach at a university. Nikhil Bommakanti, University of Illinois at Chicago, seeks a M.D./Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, wants to conduct research in biomedical science and teach at the university. level. Manan Raval, University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign, seeks a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, wants to conduct research in photonics and laser technology. Suraj Kannan, University of Louisville, seeks a M.D./Ph.D. in Regenerative Medicine, wants to conduct research in the mechanisms of stem cells and develop therapies for a variety of clinical pathologies. Nilay Kumar, Columbia University, seeks a Ph.D. in Fundamental Physics,wants to conduct research in fundamental (particle) physics and teach at the university level.

Aparna Sajja, George Washington University, seeks a M.D./Ph.D. in Cardiology/Neuroscience, wants to conduct NIH funded neurovascular translational research and teach at the university level. Sandya Subramanian, Johns Hopkins University, seeks a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, wants to conduct research in biomedical science and engineering and work in industry. Kamal Shah, Rice University, seeks a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, wants to conduct research in low-cost, molecular bioengineering techniques and teach at the university level. Sheena Patel, Harvey Mudd College, seeks a Ph.D. in Physics, wants to conduct research in experimental physics. Ravi Uday Sheth, Rice University, seeks a Ph.D. in Bioengineering, wants to conduct research in Synthetic Biology and teach at the university level, research at a national lab or in industry.

Sai Prashanth Gourisankar, University of Texas at Austin, seeks a Ph.D. in Materials Science, wants to conduct research in nanomaterials and catalysis, and teach at the university level. Kushal Seetharam, Duke University, seeks a Ph.D. in Applied Physics, wants to conduct research in electromagnetics and photonics using computational methods and teach at the university level.